Koi Costs

• 3-inch koi: $4 and $28 depending on grade.
• 22-inch koi: $660 to $3,000.
• Full-size 40-inch koi: online for $2,200 to $14,000.

**Trading koi within a koi club can save money.

Care And Maintenance

Caring for a pond of costly “living flowers” also means taking steps to make sure they don’t get plucked up by predators looking for a free meal. In addition to great blue herons, kingfishers and raccoons also like a tasty koi treat. Keeping the pond deep will deter the raccoons and some heron. Heron may also be defeated via a look-alike decoy – the thinking being that they might not take a meal from one of their own. There are also nets and wire products to keep the birds out, but they may injure the bird. Ongoing costs include fish food, which is available for $1 to $2 per pound. Koi also eat peas and watermelon. Owners also need supplies to monitor the ammonia and nitrates of the pond ecosystem as they also change five to ten percent of the water each week. If things get iffy and a fellow koi owner can’t lend a hand, owners should factor another $500 for maintenance visits from professionals.

Taking The Plunge

Owning a koi pond becomes a labor of love for those who are truly enthusiastic about the fish. To be successful, homeowners need to plan well and be ready to attend to the biology involved. If kept well, koi can live 30 to 40 years.